1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an in-the-ear hearing-aid including an inner casing section intended to be inserted into the auditory canal and in which at least the earphone or speaker is received. The inner casing section is joined to an adjacently located outer casing section in the interior of which operating components such as a microphone, potentiometer, at least a part of the electronics, and the battery are received.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the field of hearing-aids, so called in-the-ear hearing-aids have attained a special position in that they are partially carried very discretely in the outer auditory canal and partly in the ear concha.
Of these in-the-ear hearing-aids which are in increasing demand and which have been located practically completely within the ear, concha designs have prevailed in which a small as possible part is located in the ear concha proper, whereas the rest of the hearing-aid apparatus (earphone or speaker, and possibly a part of the electronics) is located in the outer auditory canal and adjusted to the canal, utilizing the available space and thereby forms an excellent seal.
Due to the limits of miniaturisation such designs often give rise to difficulties, which may arise during the assembly or when dimensioning certain adjusting or control elements, respectively.
Accordingly, the in-the-ear hearing-aids under consideration here comprise an inner casing or jacket section, which preferably can be adjusted to the available space in the outer auditory canal of the intended user and which receives at least the earphone or speaker, and possibly a part of the electronics, and an adjoining outer section which is to be located within the ear concha ahead of the auditory canal and which contains the microphone, the battery and the electronics or at least a part thereof. Furthermore, the On-Off switch and the adjusting knob of the volume control apparatus (potentiometer) should also be located in this outer section of the apparatus.
With these commonly known hearing-aids it is merely necessary to make basic adjustments of the components of the apparatus relative to the individual user's demands, whereby on the one hand such adjusting operations must possibly be repeated from time-to-time and, on the other hand, the battery has to be exchanged periodically.
The battery is located uppermost in the outer casing section and below a removable cover. When the battery is removed there exists generally an access to the control members of the components of the apparatus which are adjustable by a person skilled in this art.
This arrangement allows, however, practically no adjustments when the hearing-aid is in place within the ear. Furthermore, it often happens that the battery falls out upon opening of the cover. A further drawback is that the adjusting knob of the potentiometer can be of small dimensions, which makes a precise adjusting of the potentiometer quite difficult.